The Simpsons: "Brick Like Me" Review

"It's not selling out. It's co-branding!"

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May 3, 2014

It's slightly mind-boggling to think that The Simpsons is airing its 550th episode this Sunday. It was impressive enough when "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" came along to poke fun at the show's longevity, and that was ages ago. Matt Groening and company decided to get a little creative with this latest milestone, opting for a CG-fueled extravaganza where Springfield and its many residents are depicted in blocky LEGO form. If it helps sell a few thousand more of those brand new Simpsons-branded LEGO sets, so much the better for both corporations. But hey, at least it's something new, and not the show's 57th depiction of Homer and Marge's first meeting.

To their credit, Groening, producers Al Jean and Matt Selman, and the animators really went all out with the premise. This isn't just a generic Simpsons episode that happens to have a new art style. The fact that Springfield has been LEGO-ized is frequently acknowledged and very integral to the plot. The characters know they're made of plastic. Characters and buildings falling apart and being reassembled is treated as an everyday fact of life. And as the episode wears on, there's more and more interplay between the "real world" Springfield and this LEGO-ized version.

The plot of this episode is basically two-fold. One one hand, Homer goes about his life of plastic-y bliss, only to realize that something is amiss and that there may, in fact, be a fat, fleshy version of himself somewhere out there. Meanwhile, Bart's latest prank results in the complete and utter destruction of Springfield Elementary, an act which in this world merely results in an afternoon detention session where Principal Skinner forces him to rebuild the school brick by brick.

The episode really does take advantage of the LEGO cross-promotion at all times. There's plenty of humor in the fact that the characters know they're nothing but plastic mini-figs. Easily the funniest moment of the episode involves Reverend Lovejoy recounting his congregation with a LEGO-ized version of Creationism. The show's trademark sight gags and goofy background signs are out in full force. Most of the iconic Springfield businesses have been renamed (Brik-E-Mart, Lard Fig Donuts, etc.). And while it's nowhere near the level of The LEGO Movie, the episode does occasionally reference iconic LEGO playsets and mini-figs. The weaker moments come when the humor ventures outside of LEGO territory and towards unrelated subject matter. There's a running Hunger Games spoof that, while fairly amusing, feels shoehorned in for no good reason.

The Simpsons as seen in "Brick Like Me."

The episode also does a good job of adapting the show's familiar aesthetic to LEGO format. Springfield has all the scope and variety it usually does, but everything has been painstakingly rendered in LEGO brick format. The characters themselves look a little odd. Because the actual Simpsons LEGO sets are such a recent thing -- which came about after this episode went into production -- the animators merely adapted the character designs into a generic LEGO form rather than using the custom molded heads designed for the sets. The advantage to that approach is that the flat faces allow for a much greater degree of mouth movement and expression than would have been possible with more complicated 3D shapes. It is a little weird that all the characters are largely the same size and shape regardless of age, gender, or what have you, but here too the writing acknowledges that fact. And amusingly enough, Moe of all the characters looks the most like his usual self.

Warning - the next paragraph contains some LEGO Movie spoilers if you haven't seen!

It's difficult to analyze this episode without drawing comparisons to The LEGO Movie. Not only is the animation style similar, but there are a number of story and thematic similarities. Like the movie, "Brick Like Me" explores the conflict between those who rigidly follow LEGO building instructions and those who just want to have fun and be creative. And like the movie, there's an interplay between the real world and the LEGO world that gives everything a sadder, more emotional context. Unfortunately, these similarities prove to be the one real weakness of "Brick Like Me." Maybe it's not fair to compare a 30-minute animated sitcom episode to a big-budget, 90-minute movie, but The LEGO Movie was able to explore those themes in much greater and more ambitious depth. It's unfortunate this episode had to appear so closely on the heels of that film. The fact that there's a direct nod to The LEGO Movie and the shared qualities of these two projects helps, but it also draws more attention to those similarities.

The Verdict

The similarities to The Lego Movie are unfortunate, but there's still a lot of fun to be had in this latest Simpsons milestone episode. As long as this show has been on the air, any deviation from the norm is welcome. There's plenty of entertainment value in seeing a LEGO-ized Springfield and its blocky inhabitants. And the headier themes and story elements, if redundant at this point, should still connect with anyone who grew up playing with LEGOs. Now the only question is what the producers will cook up for a 600th episode celebration.